A Hariri block member of parliament told me this: two years ago, Hariri member of parliament Muhammad Qabbani planned a dinner party in honor of Syria's chief of intelligence in Lebanon, Rustum Ghazalah. Ghazalah, told Hariri about the dinner invitation, and Hariri was not pleased. He called Qabbani and told him to cancel the dinner party, and that it may unwittingly indicate prime ministerial ambition on his part. Qabbani was devastated. He told Hariri that people were invited, and that the entire community learned about it, and they felt proud that their deputy Qabbani was being honored by Ghazalah's attendance. In today's Lebanon, Qabbani is one of those who shout the loudest about the "independence" and "sovereignty" of Lebanon.